Sasserine
Sasserine was one of the earliest colonies founded in the New World by settlers from the Old World. It is located at the westernmost edge of the Mocotan Jungle, nestled in a sheltered harbour. Most travellers come to Sasserine via ship, as overland routes are fraught with peril. From the sea, Sasserine isn’t much to look at; two ragged cliffs of stone jut from the coastline, their faces home to seahawks and gulls but little else. Then a vast rent in the cliff slides into view, its summit crowned by the ruins of an immense stone bridge. Sailing between the mighty pylons that supported the bridge, a visitor passes from open sea into a thriving harbour of commerce, whaling and intrigue. Certainly the smell of the city is breathtaking– a tremendous riot of exotic spices, smoke, humanity and sewage that assaults the senses. Perfumes and scented candles are popular commodities in Sasserine. History Sasserine began not as a city, but as a woman. Nearly 700 years ago, a cleric of Wee Jas named Sasserine woke one night after a particularly vivid dream of a hidden cove, protected from the sea by vast cliffs and from the land by steaming swamps and jungle. In this vision, she beheld a thriving city and a glittering spire of scarlet stone, and knew Wee Jas had visited her with a prophecy. Sasserine called together her followers, including her lover Teraknian – a soldier and worshipper of Kord – and the wizard Surabar Spellmason, and set out to find this hidden cove. Diseases, accidents and monsters took their toll, and near the end, despair gnawed at Sasserine’s pilgrims. Finally, their numbers reduced to less than a quarter of their initial strength, these pilgrims emerged into a bounteous stretch of land with fertile soil and fields of exotic plants sheltered by twin shoreline cliffs. Sasserine recognised the landscape at once, but Wee Jas had not warned her of the black dragon that had taken the cove as his territory. Mere hours after the pilgrims had thankfully fed on the abundant plants and had only just begun to hope they had found their new home, the dragon Zelkarune struck. Enraged at this final trial, Sasserine stood her ground against the dragon and defeated it – but at a terrible cost. For in delivering the final strike, Sasserine had been forced to step between Zelkarune’s claw and Teraknian; the blow meant for him instead laid her low, just as she called down a bolt of fire from the sky to slay the dragon. In the days to follow, the survivors turned to Teraknian for leadership, who vowed to found a city in Sasserine’s name. It was the year 1288, and over the nearly seven centuries to follow, Sasserine would mature into one of the great wonders ofthe south. Surabar Spellmason would travel south with Kozomagon Lidu to found Cauldron, and other pioneers, known as the New Colonists, would found other settlements along the coast, but none grew to be as successful as Sasserine. For 154 years after its foundation, Sasserine experienced phenomenal growth. In 1442, Sasserine had its first conflict with the notorious assassins and slavers of the Scarlet Brotherhood. Brotherhood spell casters managed to destroy the stone bridge known as Teraknian’s Arch and burned much of the waterfront before the defenders managed to repulse the attack. Over the next four centuries, Sasserine would be variously assaulted by the Scarlet Brotherhood, native civilisations, and local tribes of more primitive creatures once or twice a decade, so tempting were the vast plantations of coffee and spices that the city protected. Yet with each assault, the soldiers of Sasserine grew more adept at defending their city. Teraknian’s Arch was rebuilt and destroyed several more times, and was last rebuilt in the 1800's before its destruction in 1985. Over the years, a line of kings descended from Teraknian ruled Sasserine in conjunction with advice from the churches of Wee Jas and Kord. This lasted until the 1880’s when colonial powers started to take an interest in Sasserine. In the year 1884, Orren Teraknian ruled the city. Pressure from the great powers was eating away at his sanity, and he became a tyrant to enforce order. Taxes were raised, freedoms were restricted, and for the first time in centuries, the church of Wee Jas was stripped of its power when fabricated charges of devil-worship led to the arrest, imprisonment, and even execution of its faithful. Just as Orren’s rule became unbearable, a great fleet of ships arrived in a nearby Albaidan port. Representatives of Sasserine’s disaffected people went in secret to negotiate with their leader, and the Albaidans assaulted the city. Promising an end to Orren’s cruel rule, the invaders were aided from within as the citizens rose up in rebellion. Orren Teraknian was overthrown and he and his family fled into exile, even as the Albaidans claimed Sasserine as their own. At first their rule was good, but over the century to come, a succession of mean-spirited governors and eventually a viceroy in the form of Diego Montego D'Albaida – an Albaidan royal sent to the colonies to keep him out of trouble – savaged the city and its resources, banned guilds and ruled with even more harshness than Orren, imposing the worship of St. Cuthbert on many. Sasserine has suffered in these 100 years, but the underlying spirit of her citizens will not die. For the last century, Sasserine was the jewel in the crown of Albaida’s colonial empire. As the capital of ‘New Albaida’, Sasserine was governed directly by the Viceroy of New Albaida, who exercised power through appointed magistrates. There used to be a colonial assembly of leading citizens to advise the viceroy, but this was abolished nearly 20 years ago. The last viceroy was Diego Montego d’Albaida, the uncle of the current king, Carlos V d'Albaida. He was put in charge of Albaida’s distant colonies to keep him a long way from the corridors of power in the royal court by King Carlos. His rule lasted 20 years and drove the people of Sasserine and Cauldron to breaking point. Over-taxed, under-represented and held in a stranglehold by the iron arm of the law, the people longed and prayed for an end to Albaidan rule. Their prayers were finally answered. In the Spring of 1985, the Scarlet Brotherhood assassinated most of the Albaidan colonial governors and several leading royals and aristocrats in their homeland. The resulting turmoil threw the empire into chaos, and without the support of his homeland, d’Albaida’s rule became very shaky. It was not long before the revolution started, and both Sasserine and Cauldron rose up and cast down Albaidan rule. Geography Sasserine is split into seven distinct districts, each with its own personality. These districts are separated by inner walls, by networks of canals or rivers, or simply by age. There is a notable divide between districts, but the people of Sasserine do not hesitate to come to each other’s aid. Perched at the edge of civilisation, Sasserine is (and always has been) often the target of assault from land and sea; pirates, the Scarlet Brotherhood, and the froglike bullywugs of the surrounding marshland, and even the lizardfolk, ogres and giants from deeper inland keep the city on constant alert, yet to date, the fiercely proud city has fallen to the enemy only once, and even then only with the willing cooperation of the people. Sasserine has plantations, but it is mostly a trading port. Resources are shipped here from other settlements on the Cacao Sea and Argyrian coast (or from the Old World), and traded with goods from the Mocotan Region. With the opening of trade links brought about by the fall of Albaidan rule, trade has greatly increased and wealth now flows freely into the city. Rulership Sasserine's government is presently informal and oligarchic in nature. A transitional council, chaired by Worrin Lidu, overseas the affairs of the city. There are competing suggestions as to how the constitution should be written, with divisions between republicans (such as Lidu, and Aniphastus Knowlern) and monarchists (such as Neldrack Lorchester, and the Teraknian sisters). Locations & Landmarks *Azure DIstrict *Castle Teraknian *Champions' Town *Cudgel District *Merchants' Town *Noble Borough *Parrot Island *Shadowshore (Formerly Royal District) *Sunrise *Teraknian's Arch Category:Place Category:Settlement Category:City Category:Sasserine